This application generally relates to telecommunications and to data processing. This application, more particularly, relates to location monitoring within a radiotelephone system.
Location-based services for wireless devices are known in the art. A wireless device's location is determined (usually via triangulation or a global positioning system) and then information is provided based on that location. Advertising, for example, can be based on location. Once the location of a wireless device is known, local restaurants and merchants may wish to provide targeted advertising to the wireless device. Coupons may even be sent to the wireless device to entice the wireless customer to purchase.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,533 to Brohoff (Aug. 22, 2000) (incorporated herein by reference) provides an example. A service area of a wireless network is divided into geographic zones. When a wireless device issues a search query, the network first determines the location of the wireless device. A search is performed based on the search query, and search results are returned to the wireless device. The search results, however, are sorted according to the location of the wireless device. If, for example, the wireless customer issues a generalized search query for “food,” the search results are arranged according to those restaurants located within the geographic zone of the wireless device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,169,894 to McCormick et aL (Jan. 2, 2001) (incorporated herein by reference) is an example of geographic broadcasting. This patent describes broadcasting information that is specific to a geographic region. Local traffic reports, sightseeing points of interest, weather conditions, tourist information, and local commercials are examples of information that is specifically broadcast to a limited geographic region.
Several other documents discuss location-based information. U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,045 to Giniger et al. (Mar. 6, 2001), U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,159 to Fan et al. (Mar. 4, 2003), U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,894 to Sheynblat et al. (Jan. 13, 2004), and published U.S. Patent Application 2003/0134648 to Reed et al. (pub. Jul. 17, 2003) (and all incorporated herein by reference) provide examples of location-based information. These documents all discuss various schemes of providing information to a wireless device, and the information is based on the location of the wireless device. The information may be tailored to the interests of the wireless customer. The information may be local advertisements and/or coupons. If the wireless device requests information, search results are returned that are within local reach and not across the continent.
Despite all these known location-based services, a fundamental concept has eluded the prior art. As the wireless customer travels further from a merchant, conventional advertising and marketing strategies are less successful. A wireless customer that is located farther away from a merchant is less likely to travel and to purchase from the merchant. That is, a wireless customer that is in the vicinity of a merchant's store is more likely to respond to the location-based advertisement. If the wireless customer is presently located many miles from the merchant, the location-based advertisement may not entice the wireless customer to drive to the merchant. What is needed, then, is a strategy for providing location-based services that provides a greater enticement depending on the distance a wireless customer must travel.